


Echoes of the Empyrean

by musicaldaydreamer



Category: Pokemon Empyrean
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, Rainbow Quest Spoilers, Silly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:55:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22839667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicaldaydreamer/pseuds/musicaldaydreamer
Summary: It's been two years since the catastrophic future was averted, and Hal's daughter Winnie has been on a mission of her own ever since. Now, the ultimate consequences of that mission are coming to light, and Winnie finds herself completely unprepared for what happens next.Not that she minds.(This story takes place after the postgame Rainbow Quest, and therefore contains extensive spoilers for that and most likely everything else in the game!)
Kudos: 5





	1. Happy Birthday

Winnie was riding her bike along Delta Overpass when it happened. A bloom of heat came from her backpack, and- in the part of her that had been drawn forward in pure curiosity for two years- she felt something shift. Quickly she pulled off to the side of the route and opened her backpack. Her egg, the one she had been carrying around for the last month, had a crack, and it was emanating a strange, shifting light. She looked around, noted the total lack of concealment this road offered, and then saw the egg move. Another luminous crack appeared, this one following one of the black rings that curved around the shell.

With a pulse of worry, she realized that there wasn't much time.

She left her bicycle where it was. Gently carrying her bag in front of her, Winnie scrambled over the railing and down some rocks, until she was at the edge of the river. Then, holding the bag even closer to her chest, she edged around the pillar of concrete that held up the road.

It was a narrow, uneven section of stones that ran beneath the bridge, but it was enough to let Winnie squat and gently set her bag on a particularly flat rock, and take another look.

More and more cracks were appearing, and the light that came from them was growing brighter and brighter. She glanced upward, hoping that even hidden, the light would not attract attention from above. But the concern was soon forgotten, as sheer  _ curiosity _ flooded her once more and she waited quietly to see what would emerge. 

Winnie wasn't sure how long she squatted there before the egg began floating. It hovered up from her bag, and Winnie automatically reached out her hands to hold beneath it in case it fell. A moment later, there was a blinding flash, and Winnie felt shards of the eggshell pelt her hands.

The spots cleared from Winnie's eyes slowly. The first thing she could make out was a figure, about a foot tall, hovering in front of her. Then she made out wings, and she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to hasten her vision along.

When she opened them, her vision had cleared. Before her hovered- an impossibility. It  _ was _ W.T., just as he had looked two years ago when he had come so close to destroying everything. The features, hair, wings- everything was identical. Except that this W.T. was so much smaller. This W.T. shone not pure white, but all the colours of the rainbow, swirling hypnotically across its body and in the air around it.

Most impossibly of all, Winnie felt no fear.

The creature watched her, confusion rather than malice in its bright eyes. And  _ that _ was what told her, more than anything else, that despite appearances this was not her old enemy.   
This was someone new.

Winnie smiled in greeting, and any remaining doubts were put to rest when the tiny Empyrean's face broke into a smile of its own, a smile that made its entire body shine more brightly.   


Winnie held out her hand. "Hey, there. I'm Winnie. It's nice to meet you." 

The creature hovered closer, looking curiously at her hand, then its own. "Hey there. I'm Winnie?" It spoke with a high, wavering voice, like jingling bells underwater. 

"No," Winnie laughed. " _ I'm _ Winnie. You... do you have a name?" 

"Have a name?" The little Empyrean looked around, frowning. "It's nice to meet you!" 

"You're echoing me," she grinned. 

"Echo!" The tiny creature brightened instantly. "Echo! Echo!" It flapped its wings. " _ I'm _ Echo." 

Winnie smiled. "Echo! A good name." 

"Good name!" Echo agreed. "Nice!" It grabbed one of Winnie's fingers in each of its tiny hands and wiggled them. Its touch was warm on her skin, like tiny tingling sunbeams, and when Winnie laughed Echo did, too. 

"Well, Echo, I think we should get home. Is that all right? I know someone who might be able to help. And I can't call them from down here." 

"Is all right," Echo trilled. "Good Winnie." 

Her heart melted, a little, at that.   
  


She reached into her backpack and unfolded her Rocket Wings, Echo watching as she extended them and attached the motor to them. "You can ride in my bag, or I can carry you- oh, I better grab my bike," she remembered. 

"Bike?" 

"Yeah, it's up- Echo, wait!" Alarm filled her voice as Echo began flying up toward the road, the way she'd pointed. It stopped, looking back with confusion at her sharp voice. Its eyes widened, and Winnie realized what was happening. "No, no, it's okay-" 

But it was too late. A wail rang out, louder than Winnie could have imagined was possible for a being Echo's size, and with it the light pouring off it flared. It reminded her of the other Empyreans she'd met, their terrifying astral cries of pain and rage that sounded more like a storm than anything alive. But again, somehow, Winnie felt no fear. Sensed, somehow, that this was simply a baby's cry. So she reached out to Echo.

"It's okay. It's all right. Come here, I've got you." And to her mild surprise, Echo did, jetting into Winnie's arms and clutching her shirt. She stroked it, its cries lowered to a murmur, and the light spike settled until it was once more a gentle glow. 

Was  _ this _ all Nemo had meant when he warned her about imbalance? Some infantile mood swings? 

"Are you all right?" Winnie jumped at the unfamiliar voice calling out. She looked up, and saw two boys looking down over the edge of the bridge, looking worried.

Winnie quickly put her other arm over Echo and stepped further under the bridge. 

"I'm fine," she called back. "Sorry, I scared a Pokemon. It took off in the water." 

"Holy," one of the boys said. "What even was it, Kyogre or something?" 

"I saw a bike up here and thought someone fell," the other sighed, relief filling his voice. 

"A Seel or something," Winnie replied. "Yeah, that's my bike, I climbed down." 

"That is one loud Seel," the boy said, sounding impressed. "You gonna catch it?" 

"Nah," Winnie said. "I'm gonna head home. I'll get my bike, don't worry about it." 

"Okay, if you're sure," the second boy called. "C'mon, Kev, let's keep riding." 

Winnie looked down at the tiny Empyrean cuddled to her chest. The light was dim now, and she could hear a faint, steady buzz that she realized, after a moment, was snoring. 

She smiled, and with one arm she finished putting on her Rocket Wings and activated them. The sound woke Echo, and they blinked sleepily up at her. 

"It's okay," she murmured. "Heading home." 

"Home," Echo trilled, and dozed off again. 

Even with her Rocket Wings, it was not easy to collect her bike, fold it into her bag and take off into the air without jostling Echo. But somehow she managed, and in the cold wind of flight Echo was warm against her as she headed for Roarin Plateau.  
  


She had a phone call to make. 


	2. Congrats, You're a Grandpa

Hal walked in after a long day visiting the Ranger's Guild and found his daughter smacking a cell phone against her knee. Something glowed on the couch behind her, mostly obscured by her body but the swirling light enough to draw his attention. He stopped, in front of his favourite chair, and cleared his throat.

"Um, hi, sweetie- what're you doing?" 

"I'm trying to make this phone work," she told him. "Do you know an Aleph Zero, by any chance?" 

"No," Hal replied. "Should I?" 

Winnie frowned. "I'm not sure. It might just be a codename, but-" she trailed off, glancing down at the glow beside her. "Dad, you might want to sit down." 

"Winnie, what's going on?" he asked, his face going pale. "Are you all right?" 

"I'm fine," she said hastily. "Everything's fine, I just need you to sit down." She gave the phone a final smack, held it to her ear, and set it down on the coffee table. 

Hal sat. "Okay, now fill me in." 

Slowly, Winnie shifted so that her father could see the tiny sleeping figure. "Dad, this is Echo." 

His eyes took a moment to adjust to the swirling light, but when he took in the familiar shape he jumped to his feet. "...Winnie, what the  _ hell _ ," he hissed. "Do you know what that is?" 

"His name is Echo," Winnie said firmly. "And he's just a baby, Dad, he only hatched this afternoon. He won't hurt anyone." She smiled in the little Empyrean's direction.

Hal rubbed his face. "Win, you  _ know _ that the Empyrean are incredibly dangerous even immediately after birth, you've seen it firsthand. What are you  _ doing _ ? And why is it with you?" 

"I know, but-" 

Echo woke up at that moment. The glow surrounding him brightened, and he floated up off the chair. Hal flinched back instinctively, but when the little Empyrean saw Winnie his face broke into a smile, and he reached for her. Happily she scooped the floating baby into her arms.

  
"...I need a coffee," Hal said finally.


	3. Rude Awakenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winnie finally gets a phone call, but not the one she was expecting. The timing is interesting, to say the least.

The night passed, not uneventfully, but as peacefully as could be expected given the circumstances. Sometime between his fifth cup of coffee and Echo discovering the ceiling lamp, Hal had stopped hissing under his breath to Winnie and accepted that, for now at least, Echo truly did not seem to mean any harm. It was a great relief for Winnie, as it meant she could stop worrying about her father and start trying to make her new friend safe and comfortable. 

  
Echo napped off and on over the course of the evening, and when he was awake he stayed close to Winnie. When the humans had supper- grilled oran berry on a bun- Echo was uninterested, and refused to eat anything that was offered, even Hal's suggestion of Moomoo Milk. Winnie worried over this, until Echo assured her he was 'eating the lamp' and Winnie decided it must be some sort of light absorption. 

  
When the time came for Winnie to go to sleep, Hal tried to argue that she should stay in the living room, so he could help keep an eye on Echo. Winnie refused to hear it. She was tired, it had been a long day, and she wanted her own bed. So she made a nest of blankets for Echo on the couch in her bedroom, gave the little Empyrean a kiss on the head, and flopped into bed.   
In the dark room Echo's glow was bright, even as he slept, but Winnie was so tired even that could not keep her from slumber. 

The next thing she knew, a phone was ringing, and she jolted awake.   
"Hello?" Winnie asked blearily, grabbing the phone from her nightstand.   
The ringing sounded out again, and Winnie realized she wasn't holding _her_ phone- not her main one, anyway- and the brief confusion of why that phone was out was quickly replaced by the memory of everything that had happened yesterday.   
And then Echo, woken by the phone, started crying.   
It was louder than the ringing by far, and Winnie was only half awake. So she scooped Echo off the pillow next to her and rocked him.   
"It's okay!" she said. "It's okay. Sssh. I've got-" 

"Winnie!"   
Hal threw Winnie's door open, looking panicked. He held a Pokeball, and looked around the room in sheer panic before he registered what he was seeing. "What's it doing to you?"

"It's okay," Winnie said again, this time to both of them. "The phone scared him. It's okay now. Look, it's Dad!" She nodded toward her father. 

"Dad," Echo repeated, still whimpering. "I'm scared. Phone?" 

"It scared me too," Winnie agreed. "...Morning Dad, can you get my bag?" 

"Here," Hal handed Winnie the bag. "...Echo? It's all right, it's just noise. Win, I'm gonna go... breathe." He took a deep breath and left the room, leaving the door swinging behind him.

"Loud noise," Echo whined, but the starry rush of sound diminished, and he clung to Winnie's arm. 

With her other hand she fished out her phone. "Hello?" 

The voice on the other end was staticky, but vaguely familiar. "H...o? Win...?" 

"Hello? You're breaking up." 

There was a crackling, and a hiss. "Better? Winnie, it's Crow!" 

"Yeah. Wait, Crow? Hey!" Winnie grinned. Echo looked up curiously at the excitement in her voice, and his wings fluttered.

"Long time no hear, old friend. Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something. For the last two years, we've been searching, and we finally found him. The Sand Empyrean, Zedra." 

Winnie looked from her phone to Echo. "Uh..."

"Come out to the Ruins of Isfet, in Deshret. I'll fill you in." 

The memory hit her like a bolt of lightning. A strange girl, waiting by the end of Victory Road. Her words, forgotten until now, about a call to the Deshret Region.   
It felt unnecessary. Winnie would have gone anyway. "I'll be there. There's a few things I want to talk about too." 

"Great!" 

As she hung up the phone, Winnie looked at Echo. Radio silence for two years, and then a call from Crow the day after Echo hatched. A call Winnie had been told would come, even if she hadn't understood at the time.  
There was no way it was a coincidence. "Hey, Echo, what do you think of taking a trip?" 

Echo didn't answer. Instead, he smiled, and disappeared. 

"Ec-" Winnie barely had time to speak before he reappeared three feet away, looking downright joyful.

"I did okay!" 

"You did!" Winnie agreed weakly. "...I didn't know you could do that. Okay. Now I _really_ think we should go see Crow together. Is that okay?" 

"I want to meet your friend!"


End file.
